Lucid Motors is converting CEOs for the primary time in just about six years. The corporate introduced Tuesday that Peter Rawlinson is stepping down from the CEO and CTO roles that he’s held since ahead of the corporate went public. Rawlinson has additionally left Lucid’s board, in line with a regulatory submitting.
Lucid appointed its leader running officer Marc Winterhoff as its intervening time CEO. Rawlinson will function “strategic technical marketing consultant” to Turqi Alnowaiser, who’s chairman of the board and a most sensible govt at Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — Lucid’s majority proprietor.
The management trade comes at a crucial time for Lucid Motors, which simply introduced its Gravity SUV overdue ultimate 12 months. Lucid Motors has prime hopes for the electrical SUV. The corporate’s first car — the Air sedan — has struggled to return anyplace close to the gross sales objectives it as soon as projected when it went public in 2021. The Gravity remains to be within the means of being slowly rolled out to early consumers, workers, and people with reference to the corporate.
“Now that we have got effectively introduced the Lucid Gravity, I’ve made up our minds it’s after all the appropriate time for me to step apart from my roles at Lucid,” Rawlinson stated in a remark. “I’m extremely pleased with the accomplishments the Lucid staff have accomplished in combination thru my tenure of those previous twelve years. We grew from a tiny corporate with a large ambition, to a widely known technological global chief in sustainable mobility.”
Rawlinson can occupy the marketing consultant function till February 2027, and can obtain a “per 30 days fee of $120,000 for services and products rendered,” at the side of a complimentary Lucid EV, medical insurance, a $2 million inventory grant, and extra, in line with a regulatory submitting.
Rawlinson got here to Lucid Motors in 2013 again when it used to be nonetheless referred to as Atieva, and used to be essentially all for growing battery packs and different EV powertrain parts. He had prior to now been hired at Tesla as the executive engineer of the Type S sedan — a proven fact that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has time and again attempted to difficult to understand.
Lucid introduced Rawlinson’s transition along its monetary effects for the fourth quarter of 2024, in addition to for the overall 12 months.
The corporate in the end delivered 10,241 EVs throughout 2024, up from simply 6,001 in 2023. That generated $808 million in earnings, up from $595 million in 2023. However Lucid nonetheless misplaced a whopping $2.7 billion ultimate 12 months. It misplaced $2.8 billion in 2023. Lucid stated Tuesday that it plans to double manufacturing to round 20,000 EVs in 2025.
Lucid completed the 12 months with $1.6 billion in money and equivalents. It time and again tapped Saudi Arabia for billions in investment right through 2024 to lend a hand keep afloat till the release of the Gravity — regardless of Rawlinson telling the Monetary Instances ultimate March that he felt it used to be “unhealthy” to act just like the Kingdom used to be a supply of “bottomless wealth.”
Winterhoff stated on a convention name Tuesday that Rawlinson “may not be a part of the day by day industry,” and stated the previous CEO will most effective be concerned if Lucid’s chairman asks.
“If there are questions bobbing up and the chairman thinks it’s profitable to contain Peter, then he’s going to, however it’s as much as the discretion of the chairman to have that interplay,” Winterhoff stated.
Rawlinson used to be now not a part of the decision — one thing that analyst John Murphy from Financial institution of The usa referred to as out as extraordinary.
“I’m simply curious, you recognize, why Peter isn’t provide, and why you might make a statement like this with no successor?” he requested. “I are aware of it’s a difficult query, however I imply, it’s the person who everyone’s considering.”
“I feel we obviously introduced that Peter made the verdict that when 12 years, it’s now a great time to cross the baton,” Winterhoff stated.
This tale has been up to date with main points from Lucid Motors’ SEC filings and its quarterly investor convention name.